As Artistic Freedoms Dwindle, A Tunisian Rapper Is On The Run

It's the middle of the afternoon when we arrive at the tiny family apartment in a working-class neighborhood of Tunis. Um Ahmed cracks open the door when we arrive, ushers us in and quickly slams the door shut. She then closes a second steel gate, which she had installed after her son, Ahmed, was arrested.

Ahmed is a rapper whose performing name is Klay BBJ. And he is on the run: A song he performed with another rapper got the pair convicted of insulting the police and harming public morality. The gist of the song is in the chorus: The police are dogs. The rest is too profane to repeat, but it speaks to a grievance many Tunisians share — that despite the promise of the Arab Spring, the region's often-brutal police forces have yet to be reformed.

Um Ahmed plays video of the moment her son was arrested after performing the song at a summer festival. "Look," she says in Tunisian Arabic. "Look, he's laughing."

Later she says Ahmed and the other rapper, Weld El 15, were beaten in custody and released. They were never informed of a trial date. In their absence, they were convicted and sentenced to year and nine months in prison. They are now in hiding while their lawyers appeal.

Um Ahmed says she's proud of her son. She says he's not a criminal; he sings about the oppressed. "Why did we have a revolution? For freedom of speech, for dignity," she says.

But she says she knew the police would come after Ahmed. Some months before he was arrested, two plainclothes police officers walked up to her and told her to tell her son to stay out of politics — to stop rapping. Now, she says, she and her daughters rarely leave the house.

When asked whether she expected this in the new Tunisia, Ahmed's sister says: "I don't think we will ever be free in Tunisia."

Human Rights Watch says this case is one of a string of prosecutions aimed at suppressing freedom of speech. Laws authoritarian leaders in Tunisia once used to silence opponents are now being used again and again.

"Slowly and increasingly, we see a restriction and shrinking of the space for media and for freedom of expression through the prosecution of artists, bloggers, journalists, et cetera under the penal code," says Amna Guellali, Human Rights Watch's Tunisia researcher.

Guellali says broad-brush laws against offenses such as "harming public morals," "disrupting public order" or "defaming public institutions" are being used to shut people up. "There was a string of other prosecutions over the last year that is worrying and increases the alarm that the space for freedom of expression is shrinking," she says.

Across town in a suburb of Tunis, Nadia Jelassi listens to her son play piano. She is a sculptor; her white hair is cut short and her home is filled with paintings and sculptures from local artists. She, too, is facing charges of harming public order that could land her in jail for as many as five years.

"After the revolution we were happy, there were more exhibitions, there was more space for art," she says. But then ultraconservative Islamists known as Salafis began harassing artists and shutting down exhibits.

Last year a group of Salafis attacked an exhibition featuring her sculpture, calling it blasphemous. Instead of going after the attackers, the state charged her with disrupting public order.

Jelassi says art is about pushing the boundaries and questioning authority — art must disturb the peace. But those who are doing that, she says, are being silenced.

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Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Throughout the Middle East, the 2011 Arab uprisings brought hope for freedom, dignity and social justice. But now, that hope is giving way to bitter disappointment - even in Tunisia, once the bright spot of the movement. Human rights groups there say the same old laws authoritarian rulers once used to repress political opponents are now resurfacing. Tunisia's new leaders are silencing artists, journalists, or anyone who criticizes the police or the government.

NPR's Leila Fadel visited the capital, Tunis, and brings us this report.

LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: It's the middle of the afternoon. Um Ahmed cracks open the door when we arrive and then ushers us in before slamming the door shut. She closes a second steel gate that leads up to the tiny family apartment in this working-class neighborhood of Tunis. She had the gate installed after her son, Ahmed, was arrested.

Ahmed is a rapper, whose performance name is Kley BBJ and he is on the run. A song he performed with another rapper got the pair convicted of insulting the police and harming public morality.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

FADEL: The gist of the song is in the chorus: The police are dogs. The rest has a lot of profanity I can't repeat but it speaks to a grievance that many Tunisians share. Despite the promise of the Arab Spring, the region's often-brutal police forces have yet to be reformed.

UM AHMED: (Foreign language spoken)

FADEL: Um Ahmed plays video of the moment her son was arrested after performing the song at a summer festival. Look, she says, look he's laughing. Later, she says he and the other rapper, Weld El 15, were beaten in custody and released. They were never informed of a trial date. In their absence, they were convicted and sentenced to year and nine months in prison. They are now in hiding while their lawyers file an appeal.

AHMED: (Speaking foreign language)

FADEL: Um Ahmed says she's proud of her son. She says he's not a criminal, he sings about the oppressed. She asks, why did we have a revolution? For freedom of speech, for dignity. But she says she knew the police would come after Ahmed. Some months before he was arrested, two plainclothes policeman walked up to her and told her to tell her son to stay out of politics, to stop rapping.

Now she says she and her daughter rarely leave the house. I ask Ahmed's sister whether she expected this in the new Tunisia.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I don't think we will ever be free in Tunisia.

FADEL: Human Rights Watch says this case is one of a string of prosecutions aimed at suppressing freedom of speech. Laws authoritarian leaders in Tunisia once used to silence opponents are now being used again and again.

Amna Guellali is Human Rights Watch's Tunisia researcher.

AMNA GUELLALI: Slowly, slowly and increasingly we see a kind of a restriction and shrinking of the space for media and for freedom of expression through the prosecution of artists, bloggers, journalists, et cetera, under the penal code.

FADEL: Broad brush laws such as harming public morals or disrupting public order or defaming public institutions are being used to shut people up.

GUELLALI: There was a string of other, you know, prosecutions over the last year that is worrying and increases the alarm that the space for freedom of expression is shrinking.

(SOUNDBITE OF PIANO)

FADEL: Across town in a suburb of Tunis, Nadia Jelassi listens to her son play piano. She is a sculptor, her white hair is cut short and her home is filled with paintings and sculptures from local artists. She, too, is facing charges of harming public order that could land her in jail for as much as five years.

NADIA JELASSI: (Foreign language spoken)

FADEL: She says after the revolution, we were euphoric. There were more exhibitions. There was more space for art. But then, she says, ultraconservative Islamists, known as Salafis, began harassing artists and shutting down exhibits. Last year, a group of Salafis attacked an exhibition featuring her sculpture, calling it blasphemous. Instead of going after the attackers, the state charged her with disrupting public order.

JELASSI: (Speaking foreign language)

FADEL: She says art is about pushing the boundaries and questioning authority. Art must disturb the peace. But those who are doing that she says are being silenced.